qualities with which the concept of authority is imbued; namely, freedom, rationality, purpose and autonomy, but

Transcription

1 God laid in man a living immortal, active, self-responsible, self-conscious, purposeful principle ordinarily called the spirit or soul of man, by which he is distinguished from all other living beings. These characteristics of the individual emphasize those qualities with which the concept of authority is imbued; namely, freedom, rationality, purpose and autonomy, but it is difficult to reconcile them with other aspects of the Calvinist conception of mankind. For example, the child is perceived in terms of "unripeness, his dependence, his ability to learn by experience, his docility and his imperfection"(9) - all of which suggest that s/he is capable of being moulded and shaped presumably into the conception outlined above in Article 4d. There seems to be a contradiction between what the child is and what s/he becomes i.e. how is it possible to start with a child who is viewed as passive, dependent and malleable and then to arrive at an adult who is purposeful, rational and morally responsible? These perceptions are diametrically opposed to each other and it is a crucial misunderstanding of the way in which each articulates human behaviour tc imagine that they are complementary. The first conception allows for an interpretation of behaviour in causal terms as illustrated by the concept of power, and the second in

2 terms of reasons related to the concept of authority. To confuse the two is to conflate the concepts of power and authority. In this conception of the child, C.N.E. is concerned with what w ill be, rather than with what is, and therefore tends to be idealistic and conservative in its preservation of past values and sk ills.(10) This may lead to riqid teachir.g styles, rooted in the past, limited ir their ability to initiate change and always subject to realizing the aim of education in terms of specific criteria appropriate to a Calvinist life- and world-view. Instead of opening up opportunities, C.N.E. tends to stifle alternatives, thereby circumscribing the process of education. In contrast to the Calvinist view of the chilr, its perception of the teacher carries overtones of reverence and respect accorded to an authority-figure. The teacher is acknowledged as acting on the parents' behalf and, having attained the ideal of spiritual and moral maturity, is expectcd to sot a good example. Article 9 of the Policy states :...the teacher must act as a substitute for the parent, by which we acknowledge the honourable status of the teacher.

3 This elevation of the teacher, especially in conjunction with the demeaning of the child, affords ready access to power while at the same time, downplaying his/her accountability. Exercising authority borrowed fron God and the parents, the teacher's role is traditional and can easily become authoritarian. The single most important requirement made of teachers by C.N.E. is that they should be committed, practising Christians, preferably of Calvinist orientation. For example, Article 9(1) states : Our highest demand of the teacher therefore is that he should be a man of Christian life and world view, without which he is nothing less to us than the most deadly danger. The last part of the quote reveals an intensity of religious zeal more appropriate in the context of missionary activity with its desire for conversion (and all its connotations of dominance, cultural imperialism and irrationalism etc.) than in the fipnore of education. With this essential condition in mind, C.N.E. is concerned that "young men and women must receive a scientifically and systematised Christian life and world view" (11) at teacher-training institutions. There is an unusual juxtaposition of science and religion. Although 'scientifically' seems to be used in the sense

4 of methodically, it is immediately followed by: "they must be instructed in all the necessary secular sciences, but most particularly pedagogic science". A link between education and science within the framework of religion is intimated. This link is more clearly articulated in Article 11 on Higher Education :...in r.ruction and practice in the secular sciences must proceed from the Christian 1i fe and world view: in no single science may the light of God's truth be lacking. The significance of this w ill be more clearly demonstrated in the discussion of Pedagogics and its relation to C.N.E. in the next two sections. The importance C.N.E. places on 'proper' teacher-training is illustrated by the following extract :...their training can and will succeed only if after proper selection, they are placed under the guidance of men and women who are themselves of a convinced Christian-National life-view... We wish therefore to see the institutions for the training of our teachers as Christian and National institutions.(12)

5 This dovetails neatly with the aim of education in the formation of individuals of a Christian-National character so that C.N.E. may be seen as a deliberate and conscious effort to perpetuate a particular life- and world-view. As such, it is more closely allied with transmitting an ideolo;y than with knowledge, with indoctrinating than with educating. The teaching and education of Coloureds and Africans is seen in terms of an obligation to convert the non-white heathen to Christianity. For example : Trusteeship lays upon the Afrikaner the sacred obligation to see to it that the coloured man is educated according to Christian and National principles.(1 3)... we believe that the teaching and education of the native mu&t be grounded in the life and world view of the whites, more especially those of the Doer nation as the senior white trustee of the native, and that the native must be led to... acceptance of the Christian and National principles in our teaching.(14 ) Paternalism is manifested in notions of "trusteeship", cultural infancy" and "helping him on culturally"; all labels imposed from without, excluding the participants definition of the situation and prescribing behaviour in terms of the concept of power. Whaf is more, the inequity in the. relationship is to be entrenched by making the Coloured 'race conscious' and applying "the principle of separation (apartheid)" strictly in educa- 109

6 tion just as in his church l i f e ".(15) This separation is to be secured on the basis of mother-congue instruction and financing that is accepta'ie only to the extent that it does not occur at the cost of white education. Thus, Christianity as expressed in its Calvinist form in C.N.E. is used to justify "the principle of trusteeship, no equality and segregation".(1 6) Implicit in these principles is a conception of human behaviour that occurs in response to external pressures. Action does not originate within individuals.ith reference to intention, purpose, reason and/or rules embodied in the concept of authority; it is a reaction to the imposition of factors outside the individual's control as illustrated by the concept of power. Linked to the way in which it perceives human behaviour, C.N.E. tends to be prescriptive. For example, "... only when the coloured man has been Christianised can he and will he be* truly happy".(17) Education is seen not as an end in itself but as a means towards an end :... he will be secure against his own heathen and all kinds of foreign ideologies which promise him a sham happiness, but in the long run make him unsatisfied and unhappy.(18)

7 Besides the presumption in deciding what constitutes another's happiness, C.N.E believes that it can direct and shape the community according to its life philosophy. Education that is aimed at moulding a particular individual through the inculcatio- f a set of beliefs, (no matter how noble they might ba) is a contradiction In reviewing the way in which Calvinism is expressed through C.N.E., I have tried to show there is an overwhelming tendency to perceive relationships in terms of power, not authority. This authoritarianism is the target of attack of the SPROCAS document entitled, Education Beyond Apartheid. (1 9) It shows that commitment to Christian principles need not be incompatible with a rational testing of knowledge in search of truth, but that this is inimical to C.N.E. Precisely because of its authoritarian nature, C.N.E inhibits a spirit of free enquiry by shielding the believer from those areas of knowledge that it consideres 'anti' or 'un-christian' and 'anti' or 'un-national'. Thus, the Christian principle of C.N.E depicts education as the implanting of beliefs according to a narrow i definition of knowledge into the mind of a gullible recipient through the deliberate efforts of a teacher in a sanctified position of authority. The entire process

8 carries with it overtones of instrumentalism as education is seen as. means of controlling people and slotting them into particular categories, appropriate to their perceived life- and world-views. That any one of these criteria, individually, is sufficient to put in jeopardy the precarious balance of education, must through their collective incorporation into a policy, raise serious doubts about the description of C.N.E as education. Having outlined some of the objections to the Christian principle as expressed in C.N.E., I shall now turn to an examination of the im plications of the National principle for a notion A education baiod on the concept of authority. The National principle is spelled out in Article 3 and it involves cultivating "a love for one's own" so that "the child shall be led properly and with pride in his spiritual-cultural heritage into the spiritual-cultural possession of the nation". It is designed to inspire patriotic love of the fatherland, its history, culture and language but it is always to be seen as subordinate to and flowing from the Christian principle. As such, the spirit of nationalism is imbued with religious overtones and love of one's country implies a Christian virtue. Calvinism has never been successful in 112

9 . separating the Church from the state and nowhere ii it more evident than in the overlapping of the two fundamental tenets of C.N.E. (This has already been noted with respect to Article 8.4). In addition to Articles 14 and 15 dealing with Coloured and African Education which is obviously organized along national lines as has been mentioned, the influence of the National principle is clear in Article 6 on the Content of Teaching and Education. For example, under Geography, it is stated : We believe that every nation is rooted In its own soil which is allotted to it by the Creator. The idea that God ordained separate nations located in specific areas is used to gain credence for nationalism so that "the pupil will love our own soil, also in comparison and contrast with other countries." The same strain is echoed under History; namely : We believe that God has w illed separate nations and peoples, and has given each separate nation and peoples its particular vocation and task and gifts. 113

10 History is seen as the fulfilment of God's plan for mankind and a particularly important "means of cultivating love of one's own." The SPROCAS document is highly critical of the suggestion that the man-made policy of apartheid should be sanctioned by God and therefore, by implication, infallible, when this is patently false. It concludes that through C.N.E. "children are being submitted to political propaganda in the guise of God-given truth." In Civics, it is stressed "that eve*:y pupil must be formed into a Christian and national citizen of our country", observing certain "rights, responsibilities and duties towards home, church, society and st*te". Indeed, "the subject CIVICS must be such that it will breed Christian and National citizens".(20) Can this be education? It sounds more like an identity crisis on a national scale. The whole purpose of the National principle is channelled into producing a certain kind of citizen and to this end it is saturated with religious justification.

11 Nationalism focuses on differences rather than on qualities which are shared. For example, it is stated:... that, apart from the common characteristics that one child shares with all other children from all nations, there are also national characteristics that must be known and repeated.(21) The obsession with a "love for one's own' is easily converted into a disrespect for others and expressed through attitudes of condescension, arrogance and paternalist - all of which are identifiable in C.N.E. and which lead to an understanding of human behaviour in terms of the concept of power, not authority. The separatism and exclusivity fostered by the National principle receives important expression in the emotionally charged area of the language-medium of instruction. Article 8.1 stipulates that there shall be no mixed s-chools - 'mixed' in this context refers specifically to English and Afrikaans-speaking people. For example : We believe that there must be at least two sorts of schools for primary and secondary education: one for children of Afrikaansspeaking parents with their communal creed and language, with only Afrikaans as medium: and the other for children of English-speaking parents with English as medium. 115

12 Article 6.3 stresses that "the mother-tongue should be the iost important secular subject in school" and that "it must also be the only medium in the teaching of all other subjects". Dilingualism assumes secondary importance next to the mother-tongue which takes prime position in developing a patriotic love of the fatherland. This position is maintained with reference to Black education but with certain modifications; namely s The two official languages must be taught as subjects because they are official languages, and to the native, the keys to the cultural loans that are necessary to his own cultural progress. ( 22) Thus, language is saen as the key to the "cultural possession of the nation" as well as a means towards advancement and progress for other groups. It contains within it the potential to weld people into a common identity, at the same time excluding outsiders. As such, it becomes an instrument of control with which to manipulate individuals in terms of power. Indeed, the language issue provided the grounds for the re-statement of C.N.E. in the Beleid of 1948 and, according to Hofmeyr, "What had in it ia lly been developed as a defensive and protective policy to preserve the 'volk' became an instrument to control other groups."(23)

13 Article 6.3 stresses that "the mother-tongue should be the most important secular subject in schcol" and that "it must also be the only medium in the teaching of all other subjects". Bilingualism assumes secondary import- ance next to the mother-tongue which takes prime position in developing a patriotic love of the fatherland. This position is maintained with reference to Black education but with certain modifications; namely : The two official languages must be taught as subjects because they are official languages, and to the native, the keys to the cultural loans that are necessary to his own cultural progress. ( 22) Thus, language is seen as the key to the "cultural possession of the nation" as well as a means towards advancement and progress for other groups. It contains within it the potential to weld people into a common identity, at the same time e luding outsiders. As such, it becomes an instrument of control with which to manipulate individuals in terns of power. Indeed, the language issue provided the grounds for the re-statement of C.N.E. in the Beleid of 1948 and, according to Hofmeyr, "What had in it ia lly been developed as a defensive and protective policy to preserve the 'volk' became an instrument to control other groups."(23)

14 The preponderance of words such as "formed", "rooted", "allotted" and "willed" throughout the document to describe how the individual is situated by factors beyond his/her control astently reinforces tne concept of human behaviour as a response to external structures. That subjects may be used to cultivate and "breed Christian and National citizens" affords further insight into the way in which C.N.E. conceptualizes behaviour in accordance with the concept of power. The assessment of the National principle in C.N.E. has shown that is is preoccupied with the deliberate preservation and perpetuation of a life- and world-view peculiar to the Calvinist Afrikaner. To confuse this with education is a gross distortion of the nature of education. It suggests that education is limited in its application to a particular context and that it is narrowly defined in terms of specific Christian-National criteria. As such, this must be more closely allied to a process of indoctrination than education. In the spheres of both black and white education in South Africa, the impact of C.N.E. has been marked.(24) Hofmeyr notes, however, that the effects of C.N.E. in the last decade, and particularly in the report of the de Lange Commission, have been loss noticeable; although the same could not be said of the reaction the

15 fo.. - report evoked. The Government's Interim Memorandum and the 'Volkakongre.i' demonstrated the strength of their support for the principles underlying C.N.E. While there may still be some speculation surrounding the present state of C.N.E., attention in educational circles has been diverte' to a relatively newer force and this will be the sub. ct of the discussion in the next section. Section ii) Pedagogics Offsetting the influence of Christian National Education is the emergence of Pedagogics, which has become established as an orthodoxy as it is practised in certain universities and teacher-training institutions and expressed in the thinking of some teachers and policy-makers in South Africa. Pedagogics, or the science of education, consists in various partdisciplines such as psycho-pedagogics, didactical pedagogics, fundamental pedagogics; of which the last mentioned provides the philosophical grounding for Pedagogics (25) as a whole. In answering the question, 'What is education?", Pedagogics claims to adopt a 'scientific' approach based on the methods of phenomenology, and to be the only 118

16 Author Colquhoun S E Name of thesis Power and Authority in schooling and education in South Africa 1986 PUBLISHER: University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2013 LEGAL NOTICES: Copyright Notice: All materials on the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Library website are protected by South African copyright law and may not be distributed, transmitted, displayed, or otherwise published in any format, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Disclaimer and Terms of Use: Provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein, you may download material (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal and/or educational non-commercial use only. The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, is not responsible for any errors or omissions and excludes any and all liability for any errors in or omissions from the information on the Library website.